to seek its aid," as has well been said. Their unique knowledge of our
coastal waters made their services of great value in the defence of the
country and the Admiralty were the first to acknowledge this fact.

But when peace came and they turned once more to their fishing, they
found a very different state of affairs from that prevailing in 1913.

International trade had received a terrific set-back. All sorts of
difficulties, lack of purchasing power on the part of our foreign customers,
together with the imposition of tariffs and quotas limited the free exchange
of goods, and herring were no exception.

By 1934 the total landings of herrings had fallen to less than
5,000,000 cwts., compared with double this quantity in 1913. Exports
had decreased by 50 per cent.; the home demand by 40 per cent. But the
catching power of the industry had not been reduced in anything like the
same ratio. There were still 1,088 steam drifters, only 74 less than the
number in 1929 when the total catch was nearly twice as great.

During these years the plight of those herring fishermen who work on
a share system (some having a guaranteed wage) grew steadily worse. In
1933 for instance many fishermen did not earn enough to meet their pro-
portion of voyage expenses, and, after months of arduous work had nothing
whatever to bring back to their wives and families. Poverty and dire distress
descended on the fishing communities. Small wonder that the men grew
bitter when it seemed that the nation cared nothing for the excellent food
they won for it through such difficulty and danger.

This was the position in 1935, when the Government stepped in and
the Herring Industry Board was set up. Obviously the problems confronting
the industry could not be solved in a day. But much work has already
been done in the way of exploring new markets and reviving, wherever
possible, the old. Moreover, the home market is now receiving attention
and already we in this country are beginning to wake up to the fact that
herrings are one of the finest foods we can eat. I shall have something
more to say about this part of the Herring Industry Board's work at the
end of this lecture.

Here are the figures of the herring catch since 1911 :—

THE HERRING CATCH

1911—1913

1925—1930

1931—1935

1935

1936

1937

Annual Average
	Annual Average

weight landed.
	value.

cwts.
	£

10,800,000
	3,700,000

7,700,000
	3,500,000

5,100,000
	2,100,000

5,680,000
	1,960,000

5,558,000
	2,405,000

5,516,000
	2,180,000